TORONTO — Steven Stamkos knew what the Lightning needed after Sunday’s “stinker” against the Hurricanes was another tough opponent.
The Maple Leafs forced a strong response from the Lightning on Thursday night.
There was no shotless period by the Lightning, no struggle to get possession, no other big issues.
“If we can control the pace of play like I thought we did (Thursday), you see what happened,” Stamkos said after a 7-3 win. “We can shut elite offensive teams down by skating and competing.”
The first period got the game off to a wild start, with seven total goals and three lead changes. It was better than what the Lightning did against the Hurricanes in a 4-3 overtime loss, but not what they wanted, either.
After that, the game settled down, and the Lightning didn’t give up another goal. That’s where the skating and competing came in. The Lightning used their skill to control the game.
The power play ran more smoothly than it had in the previous three games, going 2-for-3, and the penalty kill was solid, allowing one goal on two Toronto chances. Entries looked cleaner. The Lightning sustained possession on the man advantage and at even strength.
After giving up three goals on 13 shots in the first (including an uncharacteristic fumble of a rebound), Andrei Vasilevskiy was perfect on 15 shots in the latter two periods.
In short, the Lightning looked like the Lightning.
It’s too early to call the Carolina game a wakeup call, but the Lightning were clearly chagrined and looked to set an entirely different tone to wash away the poor showing.
Contact Diana C. Nearhos at dnearhos@gmail.com. Follow @dianacnearhos.